The present invention relates to a housing having an impeller chamber to cooperate with a driven pump for supplying a coolant medium to the engine block of an internal combustion engine in which the housing embodies a construction to provide support for the casing of the pump at an elevation lying generally at or slightly above the top horizontal surface of an engine block. This effects an elevated repositioning of a fan driven by the pump and, at the same time, permits access to a front engine block cover as well as other apparatus at the front of the engine block without the need to remove the housing therefrom.
While not so limited, the housing of the present invention is particularly useful on a replacement internal combustion engine for a vehicle, particularly an automobile that is twenty or more years old. It is the usual practice to utilize an existing heat exchanger radiator in existing automobiles when replacing the internal combustion engine as a complete unit. This gives rise to the problem that the modern-day internal combustion engine when supported in the engine compartment of the automobile fails to position the driven fan blades attached to the "water pump" to insure an adequate and effective flow of air through the radiator. It has been discovered that the engine when set in the engine compartment brings about a positioning of the cooling fan in relation to the radiator that is too low.
While the housing of the present invention may be embodied by the construction and dimension of its component sections to the general class of commercially-available internal combustion engines, one general group of current engine blocks has been found to have consistent dimensional properties. This permits the use of a water pump housing in the form of a casting made with the use of a single pattern without alterations. These engine blocks are made by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors of a modern V-8 or V-6 design having a conventional designation as a small block and a 262-; 327-; 350- or 400-cubic inch displacement. The water pump housing that is conventionally used for these engines to support a water pump can be characterized by the fact that the water ports at opposite sides of the housing are generally at diametrically-opposite sides of the pump shaft when the pump casing is supported by the housing. Since the ports in the engine block that receive the flow of coolant from the pump housing are widely spaced and below the horizontal top surface of the engine block, the housing obscures and prevents access to a cover that must be removed to permit replacement of the cam shaft. When the vehicle is used for racing purposes, for example, it is sometimes desirable to quickly replace the cam shaft. In the past, this necessitated the removal of the housing from the engine block as well as disassembling of hose connections to the water pump casing. This represents one circumstance which I have discovered where it is desired to bring about a relocation of the water pump. As discussed above, another circumstance occurs when it is desired to elevate the driven fan to a site for an effective flow of air through the radiator. To accommodate these needs as well as to permit or facilitate removal of the engine and manifolds, my invention provides for a specially-designed housing that is supported by the engine block and, in turn, supports the casing for a water pump. By elevating the water pump in this manner, access to the cam shaft is greatly enhanced for the purpose of installation and operation of a fuel-injection pump that is usually coupled to the end of the cam shaft by an extension.